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One of the great things about Greek life is community outreach. Our organizations do a lot for those around us. From large philanthropy events that rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars to smaller, more localized community service projects, we’re always willing to lend a helping hand. Sometimes it’s as simple as just getting the message out about an issue, and that’s exactly what one sorority at Union College did last week.

The lovely ladies of Union’s Sigma Delta Tau sorority held a walk to spread a very important message. Their event, “Take A Stand, A Walk Against Hazing and Bullying,” rallied over 100 individuals of Union College and the surrounding area. Many groups marched in the rally, varying from other Greek organizations to the lacrosse team. In all, it seems like it was a pretty good event. Just a bunch of people trying to raise awareness about an issue. Nothing fishy here, right?

Well, as it turns out, there was something kind of fishy. When combined, do Union College, Sigma Delta Tau, and hazing ring a bell? It does for me. Why? Because about a month ago, I wrote an article about all three.

For those of you who weren’t aware, Tess Koman, Sigma Delta Tau, Union ’13, wrote a lovely little piece for Cosmopolitan magazine in which she stated she was proud of her sorority’s hazing traditions. Obviously the school and her sorority’s headquarters were a little upset about this, and they, as you’d expect, decided to take action. From what I gather, the subsequent actions weren’t so much disciplinary as they were inquisitive. It seems like investigations were conducted and other attempts at getting to the root of the problem were made.

In the aftermath of Koman’s recent article, recent panels and discussions have been organized on campus in an effort to clear up any misconceptions about what it means to haze and be hazed.

Ah, panels and discussions. That ought to do the trick. Nothing solves a problem quicker than a panel.

So, was Sigma Delta Tau’s march for hazing awareness a means to take some of the heat off themselves? Was it all an attempt to appease headquarters and the school administration in the wake of some utter stupidity on the part of an alumna? I can’t be sure.

I have a feeling that the school, headquarters, or both highly encouraged Sigma Delta Tau at Union to do something to make up for the fact that they put the school and sorority in somewhat of a bad light on the national scale. What better way to show you don’t tolerate hazing than holding a walk against it? Again, I can’t make any definitive statements here, but it makes sense.

However, I can tell you that the hazing must not have been too bad. When a fraternity chapter gets busted for hazing, a walk or rally probably wouldn’t do much to get them off the chopping block. Not to mention, if we get caught, everyone is pretty aware of what hazing is. They don’t need discussion panels or rallies to figure it out.